EMILY Lau's column ''Put it to the people'' (South China Morning Post, November 15) is as readable as her contributions invariably are.
However, I take issue with her on having a referendum to find the right way forward.
De Smith, in his well-known textbook on constitutional and administrative law, states as a general foundation of British constitutional law: ''The British system of parliamentary government is above all a system of government. It is not a system geared to a series of opinion polls or referendums in which the garbled voice of the people is equated with deity.
''Among the factors which the government and members of parliament have to take into account is the strength of public sentiment on particular issues. But this is one factor among many.'' A referendum on capital punishment, for example, in Hong Kong or in Britain would show that the majority of people support it. Yet Parliament has voted down capital punishment every time the tissue has been brought before them for at least the past 30 years.
The decisions that lie ahead for the Governor and for Emily Lau and her fellow members in the Legislative Council are extremely difficult. This does not mean that it is open to them to abdicate their responsibilities by resorting to the easy way out by having a referendum or a number of them.
KUO KETCHEN, Happy Valley